Treasures Untold

DENVER

Sheptons Antiques, sheptonsantiques.comMost of the goods you’ll find at Sheptons are of the architectural variety—doors, capitals, pillars, “miscellaneous items you can use to build into your home, or assemble to make something unique,” says shop owner Kent Frick, who does the bulk of his buying in India and Indonesia. But that’s not his only specialty; he also deals in teak furniture, especially tables, which he customizes by hand for his clients.One-of-a-kind finds: Architectural finds, ethnic art, wardrobes, textiles and ceramics, teak furniture

Lee Alex Decor, leealexdecor.comYou’ll get a dose of happy when you step inside this retro shop, the creative venture of Heather Lee Byron and Theo Alexander Byron. Vintage art decks the walls; smart-looking dressers and case goods hold down corners; Danish modern furniture creates inviting vignettes. The duo also has a special knack for resurrecting old furniture frames and reupholstering them to look better than ever.One-of-a-kind finds: Mid-century furnishings, from case goods to seating to lighting and art; one of the best vintage table- and barware collections in all of Colorado

Eron Johnson Antiques, eronjohnsonantiques.comNo list of Colorado antiquing destinations is complete without this venerable purveyor, which deals more than 8,000 pieces that span three centuries and 38 countries, and ships to clients around the globe. Eron Johnson’s architectural salvage department is particularly hefty, and the company’s top-notch website is updated daily. One-of-a-kind finds: Lighting, decorative accessories and art, fine furnishings, architectural salvage and garden décor

FRONT RANGE

Eclectix, Boulder, (303) 443-6700Native American artifacts, Asian furniture, classic books, famous illustrations–these are the colorful odds and ends you’ll find inside this boutique, with an inventory that stays true to its name. Harvey Gilmore, who keeps shop with the help of his wife Nanci, believes in “the whole art of recycling,” and to him, dealing vintage wares is the epitome of just that. After owning Little Bear Antiques in Aspen and Carbondale for more than 20 years, the Gilmores brought their business down the hill, opening their new shop off Pearl Street in June.One-of-a-kind finds: Antique furniture, autographed books and photos, Native American artifacts, a guitar signed by The Who

Legend Antiques, Colorado Springs, legendantiques.comHusband-and-wife owners Mark and Roxy Warzecha have spent the past couple of decades building a network of contacts in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and England—with the help of thrice annual buying trips–to curate the mix of roughly 1,500 pieces you’ll find in the warehouse. The Warzechas also have a full restoration shop to bring your old items back to life.One-of-a-kind finds: Directly imported fine European furnishings, artwork, lighting and clocks

Robin Nance Antique and Clock Shop, Fort Collins, rclocks.comWhat do maneuvering a car at fast speeds and clock repair have in common? Racecar-driver-turned-master-clock-repairman Robin Nance could tell you: both are concerned with precision and physics. With the help of his wife, Leslie, Nance sells a variety of late Victorian clocks-mantel clocks, wall clocks, floor clocks-from his small Fort Collins shop. Each timepiece comes with a one-year mechanical guarantee, which gives him a leg up on most everyone else who deals in antiquated timepieces.One-of-a-kind finds: Mantel, wall and floor (grandfather) clocks; fine art (including a Rembrandt etching); Venetian art glass

MOUNTAINS

East Meets West, Telluride, eastmeetswesttelluride.comThe contents of professional decorator Brenda Van Der Mije’s gallery are the handpicked loot of her multi-annual world buying tours through India, Europe, Asia (her favorite wonderland) and even Central America. Add to that a design career that includes stints in Palm Beach and New York, and Van Der Mije offers not only a shop full of distinctive furnishings, but also the design savvy to help her clients go from statement piece to finished room.One-of-a-kind finds: Objets d’Art and fine furnishings from India, Vietnam and Thailand; pottery, mounted antlers, decorative boxes

Paris Underground, Aspen, parisunderground.comShop owner Laura Blocker found there was something missing in the mix of mountain- and country-style antiques in Aspen, so she decided to fill the void herself with Paris Underground, introducing the simpler, modern lines of French mid-century furnishings to the Roaring Fork Valley. Designers from all over the US tap into Blocker’s lighting collection— which features a great selection of vintage Murano glass chandeliers—and shoppers love her collection of vintage tabletop goods.One-of-a-kind finds: Furnishings by mid-century French design greats Maxime Old, Jacques Quinet and Jean Royere; Murano glass lamps and chandeliers, vintage tableware

The Shaggy Ram, Edwards, theshaggyram.comSince Jackie Montgomery's retail antique business got its start in the courtyard of a friend's beach house in California in 1984, it's been through several incarnations-moving to Denver then to Virginia and back to Colorado, where The Shaggy Ram has engaged discriminating shoppers since 1993. Armed with a background in art and design, Montgomery lights to France and England every year, where she handpicks the top-quality European furniture (dating back to the late 1600s up through the 1920s) that fills her shop-and homes in the Vail Valley and beyond.One-of-a-kind finds: French and English country furniture dating back to the late 1600s, bookcases and buffets, china and majolica, an extensive collection of new lamps and fine art

WESTERN SLOPE

Strange Imports, Glenwood Springs, strangeimports.comTextiles from Thailand and antique furniture and tribal art from Nepal are among the items that fill the six containers that owner Dave Dixon sends from Asia to Glenwood Springs over the course of a year. To keep his inventory fairly priced, Dixon hunts for unrestored pieces and has them spruced up in his very own Beijing workshop with the help of Chinese craftsmen.One-of-a-kind finds: Custom lamps made out of antique Tibetan elements, tribal art and antique statuary, doors and screens

Haggle of Vendors Emporium, Grand Junction, (970) 245-1404When an oil bust caused a number of businesses to vacate Main Street 24 years ago, Ron Maupin saw the downturn as an opportunity; his shop has been a fixture in the town landscape ever since. Maupin, who served as mayor of Grand Junction during the mid-1990s, draws upon a background of fine art and design to curate the vignettes in his 5,000-square-foot, two-story mall.One-of-a-kind finds: Lighting fixtures, a collection of mid-century furnishings, vintage jewelry, Native American pieces and antique toys

Hotchkiss Trading Company, Hotchkiss, (970) 872-2121Judy Briscoe calls the off-the-beaten-path shop she started with her husband Jim and business partners Katie Gnauck and her late husband a "man's antique store." The shop's start-up inventory was simply the two men's collection of old tools. Now, 17 years later, the trading company is so well known that Briscoe says the artifacts find them-and the shop is chock full of 10,000 items (she's counted). Visiting the old cowboy town of Hotchkiss is a blast from the past, too.One-of-a-kind finds: Cast-iron cookware, antique tools, cowboy relics

This article appears in the August 2011 issue of Colorado Homes and Lifestyles